


Bear No Fruit

by RobinLoptyr (Umbramatic)



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Gen, Male-Female Friendship, zootopia au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 19:10:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7373956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Umbramatic/pseuds/RobinLoptyr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, you miss things that turn out to be important. But how does that change it all in the long run?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bear No Fruit

**Author's Note:**

  * For [antialiasis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/antialiasis/gifts), [elyvorg](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elyvorg/gifts).



> ...antialiasis?
> 
> ...elyvorg?
> 
> YOU ORDERED THIS AU
> 
> I'M DELIVERING

**Bear No Fruit**

 

They were cornered, outnumbered, outmatched.

 

Judy was curled up next to him, a large, gaping, bloody wound in her leg left by an inadvertent yet literal scrape with a fossilized tusk in the Zootopia Natural History Museum. He saw she was as scared as she was, wanted to calm her down.

 

"Okay, now just relax..."

 

He knew this was no time to relax. He was just desperate for them to both stay composed, figure something out.

 

He reached to his pockets, looking for something, anything, that could help the cut. He found nothing. He had a vague recollection of forgetting blueberries somewhere, but dismissed it, that was hardly important right now.

 

"Come on out Judy..."

 

Nick froze for a second, feeling the vice was disturbingly omnious for a sheep, before Judy shoved a metal case into his chest.

 

"Take the case! Get it to Bogo!"

 

"I'm not gonna leave you behind. That's not happening."

 

"I can't walk!"

 

"Just... We'll think of something."

 

"We're on the same team, Judy!" said the sheep's voice again.

 

Nick grabbed Judy and the case and ran, haphazardly placing a dummy rabbit into view of the officers as he headed off. He tuned out the rest of Bellwether's rant as he ran, until: 

 

"Over there!"

 

He just ran faster. He ran so fast, in fact, he  didn't see the ram heading straight for them until his horns were within his tail's length of his face.

 

He and Judy were immediately knocked into a deep pit and slammed against the decorative rocks amid the fake grass within, the case knocked from his grip onto the museum floor above. As they got to their feet, Nick reached out to Judy, only for both to hear Bellwether laugh - at Judy, however.

 

"Well you should have just stayed on the carrot farm, huh? It really is too bad. I... I did like you. 

 

"What are you going to do?" said Judy. "KIll me?"

 

Bellwether laughed. "Of course not!"

 

"...He is."

 

Just as Nick had come to the realization of what she entailed, the dart had already hit his neck. As the serum flowed through his bloodstream all his horror and coherent thought were replaced by other things.

 

Anger.

 

Hate.

 

Hunger.

 

\-----------

 

Judy rushed over to Nick as the dart hit him, horrified, even as Bellwether continued to taunt. 

 

"Yes, police! There's a savage fox in the Natural History Museum! Officer Hopps is down! Please, hurry!"

 

Judy clutched Nick even as he groaned and snarled. "No Nick, don't do this, fight it..."

 

"Oh, but he can't help it, can he? Since preds are just biologically predisposed to being savages..."

 

Suddenly Nick got up on all four paws and snarled at her, Judy realizing with horror his pupils had been reduced to slits. She scampered back with her lame leg best she could as he rushed her, threw a fake deer in his direction he was pinned by and savagely attacked as Judy watched, helpless.

"Gosh!" said Bellwether, "think of the headline! 'Hero cop killed by savage fox!'"

 

Taking her eyes off Nick just barely enough to look up at Bellwether and fiddle with something in her pocket, Judy scowled. "So that's it? Prey fears predator and you stay in power?"

 

"Pretty much."

 

"It won't work!"

 

Bellwether scowled herself. "Fear always works. And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."

 

Suddenly, she saw Nick's slitted eyes lock on her again. He made no slow stalk, just a mad, frenzied rush toward her, fangs bared.

 

Instinctively she used her good leg to let out a kick. He flinched, yelped, then mindlessly lunged again, only to be hit with another, breaking teeth and drawing blood. He attempted to claw, at which she bit, drawing more blood. He snarled, snapped, until another kick laid him unconscious.

 

Judy gasped and panted as Bellwether sneered.

 

"Hmph. Should have gotten a tougher fox for a partner. But no matter. It's clear with all this evidence it's my word against yours."

 

The other police officers file in, stunned at the sight. Belwether turned to them, opening her mouth to speak, when she heard her own voice and Judy's come up from below.

 

"So that's it? Prey fears predator and you stay in power?"

 

"Pretty much."

 

"It won't work!"

 

"Fear always works. And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."

 

Bellwether turned to see Judy weakly holding her carrot recorder up in the air. She turned back to see the officers -particularly Bogo - scowling down at her.

 

"We're going to need to talk," said Bogo.

 

\----------------------------

 

Judy lay fidgeting, tossing and turning in her hospital bed even as the bandages and stitches around her wound stung. She grabbed the remote, flipped through various news channels,saw everything of the Bellwether scandal she had exposed by the skin of her teeth but nothing of what she truly looked for.

 

She perked up slightly at the entrance of an opossum doctor, but didn't look a him, merely spoke softly. "...Doctor?"

 

"Yes, Officer Hopps?"

 

"This hospital... It's the one with Zootopia University Medical, right?"

 

The doctor nodded. "It is, as a matter of fact."

 

"Aren't they helping the Night Howler cure effort? What do you know about that?"

 

The opossum blinked, then sighed. "I'd be lying if I said I haven't gotten that question many a time from many a patient as of late... We're making good progress, but we're still a while from a working antidote."

 

"...Alright. Thank you."

 

"And thank you, Judy Hopps, for saving this city."

 

The opossum exited the room as Judy sighed. Obviously, she was glad the city was saved.

 

At this point, however, she was more worried about Nick.

 

\----------------

 

Night. He stalked through the woods, just as he had heard in all his tales of predators of old in his youth, sniffing, searching.

 

Eventually, he caught the scent of prey on the wind, he crept towards it, found a burrow, all too easy to creep inside.

 

Inside were baby bunnies, mewling, helpless. Ravenous, he lunged forward, craving the taste of their blood.

 

Just then, they were replaced by Judy, panicked and desperate, looking at him with utter terror before a got of blood burst from her throat, and he screamed as he staggered back only to be dealt a kick to the face, then another.

 

He tried to scream again, but was cut off by the shadowy apparition of a prey animal clamping a muzzle over his snout. He tried to pry it off, but more herbivores surrounded him, clamped more metal restraints to every part of his body, shoved him in a metal cage as he squirmed and let out muffled screams until he saw a blinding flash of light.

 

\-------------------

 

Nick woke with a start, gasping, panting, lying prone on a hospital bed. As he came to he felt his jaw and the side of his face ache horribly, as did a bandaged part of his arm.

 

"Wh-where am-"

 

"Easy there, Nick Wilde. The antidote seems to have worked. You're in good paws."

 

Nick turned his head weakly to see a hyena nurse looking over him.

 

"Wait, I'm-"

 

"Alive, and cured of the Night Howler serum. You can rest easy now.

 

Nick sighed and set his head back to relax when his eyes widened in shock and despite the pain he turned back to the nurse.

 

"Judy, is she still - "

 

"She's all right. Did a number to your arm, head, and face fighting you off, and the latter may not fully heal, but she got out there alive and exposed Bellwether for who she was."

 

"Are... Are you-"

 

"Trust me, if she hadn't I wouldn't have this job right now."

 

Nick paused, then sighed and laid back on the hospital bed. "Heh... Guess I shouldn't doubt Carrots when it comes to going up against me..."

 

The nurse smiled. "Good to hear; she told me to give you a call once you'd recovered, so I'll be going ahead and doing so now."

 

Nick's eyes widened again. 'Wait, maybe you shou-"

 

But she was already gone. Nick groaned, then clutched himself and shuddered.

 

The blood and clamps were still on his mind.

\------------

 

Judy sat on a park bench, thumping her foot. She glanced around, saw pedestrians come to and fro, saw a kid playing Pocket Primates on a PawDS - she briefly marveled at it still being around  after 20 years - and sighed, placing her head back on said bench. Her one day off duty and she was still too anxious to do anything because -

 

Her phone rang. She held it up and answered.

 

"Judy Hopps here, may I ask who's speaking?"

 

As the voice chattered, she beamed.'

 

"He's recovered? Doing fine? Ready for visitors? Thank you so much doctor I will be  _ right _ over!"

 

She bounded off the bench and ran. Not even bothering to catch a cab or bus, she sprinted for the hospital herself as fast as she could.

 

\------------

 

Judy forced herself to keep to a fast walk as she maneuvered her way through the hospital corridors, eyes darting between room number after room number.

 

"Lessee, it was this floor... No... No... No... Ah! There it is!"

 

She opened the door wide and grinned.

 

"Nick! I'm so glad you-"

 

She stopped and  frowned in worry when Nick gave an uncharacteristic yelp and covered his face, leaning back.

 

"J-Judy, stay, away!"

 

Judy's ears folded back as she shifted back and forth.

 

"Nick... You don't have to be afraid anymore... The serum worked, you aren't going to hurt me aga-"

 

Nick slowly lowered his paws. Judy stifled a gasp enough for it to become a whimper as she stepped back. They'd told him she'd left some damage on him, but not this much - there were distinct scars and deformations from where she kicked him, and another, thick scpar from her bite.

 

"Nick, I- I didn't expec-"

 

"Judy. Stay away from me. I almost killed you. I-I almost-" he wretches- " _ ate  _ you..."

 

"Nick, no, I stopped you, I-I stopped you  _ too _ well, I'm sorry..."

 

"Judy, I was savage. You did what you had to do. Now stay away from me before I relapse or something. I should've known I had it in me."

 

Judy doesn't respond this time, instead backing up and simply sprinting back down the hospital hallways the way she came, tears streaming down her face.

 

Nick silently lays his head down on his bed, tears falling down his face as well.

 

\---------

 

As Nick was led out of the hospital, he felt himself briefly. It felt a bit weird to be in normal clothes again.

 

He paused and realized he was glad he was still comfortable in clothes at all.

 

"Mr. Nick Wilde, sir?" said a vice from behind him.

 

He turned to see the hyena nurse who had cared for him standing nearby.

 

"I... I'm awfully sorry about what happened with Hopps... I assumed-"

 

"No, no, lady, it's fine... You thought she'd be happy to see me, I'd be happy to see her, I get that. It... Just didn't work out then."

 

"All right. Take care, Mr. Wilde."

 

"You too."

 

The nurse walked back into the hospital. Nick turned back around, gulped, and headed off into Zootopia yet again.

 

\---------------

 

At the Zootopia police station, Clawhauser plunked a box of freshly-obtained donuts in front of his desk. Eyes glistening, claws twiddling, he grabbed one and reached in to take a bite when his eyes were drawn to someone entering the building.

 

He squealed "Nick Wi-"

 

"Er, keep it down?" said Nick. "Nice you're happy to see me and all but... Y'know."

 

Clawhowser's voice was reduced to a strained whisper.

 

"Oh, yes, sorry abou-"

 

He stifled a gasp. "What happened to your face?"

 

"Judy... Did a number on me, what with the feraling on my end and all. Speaking of which, do you know if she's on duty today and where."

 

Clawhauser figeted. He looked left, he looked right. "So I heard you wanted to talk about Judy."

 

He leaned in to Nick with a lot less subtlety than Nick figured he thought,

 

"Because don't tell anyone I said this, but-"

 

He is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Bogo, who clamped a hoof over Clawhauser's mouth. Nick staggered back.

 

"Er, hey, Bogo, how's it going?"

 

Bogo gave him a leer which he quickly redirected at Clawhauser. "You know you don't have the authorization to give that information, Clawhauser."

 

The tubby cheetah gave a muffled "sorry".

 

Bogo sighed, removed his hoof, and gave a berudging look at Nick. "...That said,  _ I _ do. She's investigating some bizarre bromeliad burglaries - do not even  _ think _ of asking me to say that five times fast - in the Rainforest District. Don't interrupt her."

 

"Right," said Nick, "Thank you you two and I am  _ off _ !"

 

He dashed out of there as fast as he could. Bogo leaned back and managed to crack a small smile.

 

Making sure Clawhauser was too distracted by his donuts to see, of course.

 

\------------------

  
Nick navigated through the rainy leaves, searching, sniffing. Eventually, he found her; sitting on a bench by the gondolas, halfheartedly scribbling notes on a notepad.

 

Hesitating at first, he made his approach, but stopped, fidgeted, and moved back to give enough distance for her to run away.

 

"...Hey Judy."

 

Judy started, looked at Nick in surprise, then looked away in shame, shifting awkwardly. 

 

"...Sorry about that," said Nick.

 

"...You're sorry? Your face is still-"

 

"Scraped up a bit from me trying to kill you? I am not one to judge."

 

"You... You're still-"

 

"It doesn't hurt or anything. I'm just glad you're more OK than I am."

 

At that Judy looked up at him, unsure. He smirked.

 

"Besides, I could totally start a supervillain gig with this new look. Get a mask and everything."

 

At this Judy grinned. "You'd be a better supervillain than Bellwether."

 

Nick rolled his eyes and snickered. "Like that'd be hard."

 

Judy grinned wider, then lept up toward Nick and embraced him. Initially shocked, it didn't take long for Nick to hug back.

 

Judy broke the hug. "But more seriously, we need to find you a real job."

 

"Heh... Thanks."

 

"But once I finish writing down the files for the bromeliad culprit - Some Idaho Jones, nutjob wannabe action archeologist trying to find some Outrealm Gate and activate it - we'll head off to my family's farm to relax and catch up, if that sounds good?"

 

"Sure, a trip to hicksville actually sounds refreshing at this point."

 

He chuckles.

 

"...And I could certainly go for some fresh blueberries."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! As an important note, this is the first non-Pokemon fic I have ever completed, so... Yeah, this feels pretty awesome.


End file.
